Injuries resulting from commercial motorcycle accidents (CMAs) may produce disabilities that could lead to the loss of productivity among Nigerians. This one-year retrospective descriptive study assessed the pattern of neurologic, orthopaedic and soft tissue injuries sustained in CMAs in Kano metropolis. The study was conducted in 5 secondary level hospitals. A data capture form was used to record the socio-demographic characteristics of victims, types of injuries, accident dates and roles of accident victims from case files. The data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics and illustrated with tables and figures using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.
There were 37260 cases of road traffic accidents out of which 17388 were CMAs giving a prevalence of 46.7% and the accident rate of 2 cases per hour in Kano metropolis. The majority of CMA victims were motorcycle drivers (49.8% ,n=8653) aged between 20 – 39 years (55.4%, n=9635)and most of them were males (71.8%, n=12493). Orthopaedic injuries were more common (42.7%, n=7427) than neurologic injuries (34.8%, n=6050). Head injuries were more common among commercial motorcycle drivers (47.3%, n=2154) while spinal cord injuries were more frequently observed among pillion passengers (62%, n=930).
There was a high prevalence of CMA-related injuries in Kano and young people were mostly involved. With the current ban on commercial motorcycle activity in Kano metropolis since January 24, 2013 (for safety and security reasons), most of the affected young individuals now drive commercial tricycles within the city and many of them moved to villages. The authorities should take proactive measures to prevent fatal motorcycle crashes in villages.
Key words: motorcycle, accidents, injury, Kano metropolis
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Volume 25 (1)
